JSU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES (.pdf)

Opening Comments:
“We have played one game and we are 1-0 and that is ultimately where we want to be. We are not at all where we want to be as a football team. We have expectations of being a strong defensive football team and that surely was not evident when we played UT Martin. I give UT martin a lot of credit because they deserve it. The one thing you don't know this time of year is how good the other team is, so you don't know what to take out of the game. I really think they (UTM) are a good football team.

We did things that good defensive teams don't do. As much as we broadcasted our attitude about being a running football team, we didn't get that done as well. We didn't come out of the game feeling real good about ourselves. It doesn't change my confidence level in this team.

We've lost Odie Rush and Marques Ivory, probably the two solid leaders on the offense and we continue to get younger on that side of the ball. We have to look at the future without changing our expectations, but we have to take what we know about ourselves and what we have learned and continue to improve.

Defensively, we didn't take what we practiced into the game. I am talking about little things and I don't think we handled a multiple defense approach very well. I think we had more missed assignments than the law allows and still win the football game. I will say this – we got out act together and started to play better as the game went on. That is a sign that people know how and want to win.

I thought one of the critical things in the game was the fan support with the band down there in the horseshoe end of the stadium. We held them from scoring a touchdown and probably the turnaround in that game. We have to give the environment credit, not often do we actually see the crowd make a difference in the OVC. I give appreciation to our fans and our band, which are our best fans.

There is nothing that we can't get fixed, but we can't get older on offense. We need to fix it and we have time to fix it. Normally, we take Monday off for academics but today is not an academic day because of the holiday. We pick up an extra day of practice and we are going to need it going to play an excellent Chattanooga football team.”

On Chattanooga:
“This is by far the best Chattanooga team that we played. They are a top-20 team, a ranked team – to me the game with Nebraska was not a 40-7 game. They really held their own on the line of scrimmage and their leading rusher averaged 5.3 yards per carry. I think Nebraska had about 80% of its offense in eight plays. I was extraordinary impressed with the coaching and players in that game. Their wide receiver, Joel Bradford, is as good as there is in FCS football. Their quarterback, B.J. Coleman is an NFL prospect. He is 6-5, 220 pounds and he is an Eli Manning, Peyton Manning look-a-like. He is extremely accurate and tough. They are a fine running team and those 5.3 yards per carry scares me. We have to make sure that we carry our best football game with us and we sure haven't used it yet.”



On the quarterback situation:
“We are going in to the game like always, playing a guy in the third series just so he has a rhythm to the game. We have not had much of a gap between Thomas (Darrah) and Steven Coates. Steven can play and I'm not so sure how we are going to integrate him into this. He is a player and has a future here and the first opportunity that I see him making us better – I am going to push him into the game.”